Doha’s Hamad International Airport, which opened up in 2014 is easily one of the best airports to pass through in the Middle East. When it opened up, the capacity of the airport was at 29 million passengers per year. Now, the airport has set the stage on to expand, as it comes closer to the country gets set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

The second phase of HIA’s expansion consists of Phase A and B. Phase A of the development will comprise of the central concourse linking concourses D, and E. Construction is to commence by early 2020 and will increase the airport’s capacity to more than 53 million passengers annually by 2022. Phase B, which will be completed after 2022, will extend concourses D and E to further enhance the airport’s capacity to more than 60 million passengers annually.

HIA’s second expansion phase will feature a spectacular 10,000 sqm indoor tropical garden in a central concourse as well as a 268 sqm water feature which will be the focal point of the expansion project.

The expansion plan also includes 11,720 sqm of landscaped retail and F&B space, which will house an art collection and environment of lush greenery with leisure attractions and facilities under one expansive terminal. The airport also has a massive water vortex planned, which may look very similar to the Changi Jewel, but the catch here is, as per the reports from Executive Traveller, Qatar Airways claims they had the original design and the Jewel copied it.

HIA will also deliver 9,000 sqm of world-class Al Mourjan lounge which will include new spas, gymnasiums, restaurants and business centres as well as other passenger facilities. The original Al Mourjan Lounge is anyways very expansive, so this additional capacity is welcome for the additional people the airport plans to get in.

Here is an interesting video put out by the Twitter account of Hamad International Airport to tell us more about the plans.

Our ultimate aim at #HIAQatar is to become more than a gateway. We are a destination in our own!
Engr. Badr Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at #HIAQatar #HIAQatarExpansion pic.twitter.com/dzsOKf2DMb

— Hamad Int'l Airport (@HIAQatar) October 22, 2019

HIA expansion will also see the construction of a new cargo terminal that will increase capacity handled to an estimated 3.2 million tons per year. The state-of-the-art terminal is slated to be ready by 2023 and will be a multi-level facility with 85,000 sqm building footprint, across three levels as well as three mezzanine levels providing approximately 323,000 sqm of gross floor area.

What do you make of the new planned upgrade of Hamad International Airport?